Adding fuel to long-running feud rumours, Anne Robinson confirmed they had to ‘shut up’ Rachel Riley on Countdown.
The former Weakest Link icon replaced Nick Hewer on Countdown in 2021 but left after just one year.
Anne, 80, was the first female presenter in the show’s 40-year history but on her early exit, rumours flew that she and Rachel, 39, had clashed.
It was claimed she had the maths genius’ microphone turned off after she reportedly found her chatting to contestants ‘hugely distracting’ in November 2021.
After keeping quiet on the matter, Anne denied any falling out between the pair but confirmed that there were moments where things got tense.
She told The Telegraph: ‘It’s just a story. Rachel was a bit talkative when I was interviewing the contestants but once we shut her up, it was fine.’
It seems the TV star’s harsh manner, which she’s become so famous for, doesn’t just apply to the contestants.
A source in 2021 told the Daily Mail that there was ‘tension’ on the Countdown set between ‘young and old’.
‘Rachel and Susie [Dent] don’t care much for Anne and her rather grand ways and things have become pretty uncomfortable,’ the insider shared.
Anne did tell the publication, where she trained as a journalist in the 80s, that Rachel ‘is brilliant’.
‘I’m not saying I would go on holiday with Rachel Riley,’ she added. ‘Absolutely honestly, I do admire her – she is really, really good at what she does, as is Susie Dent.’
‘Look, Rachel has just come back from having a baby and she is standing throughout and faultless, whereas I get to sit down,’ she added to the Daily Mail.
‘She is noisy, yes she and Susie both are – they are a formidable pair those two. But there isn’t a question of my going because of a rift, that’s nonsense.’
Rachel also dismissed reports of a ‘feud’ between her and co-star Anne, telling ITV’s Lorraine that people should ‘not believe’ tabloids.
Reportedly, Anne suffers from tinnitus so she found the chatting hugely distracting and eventually, Rachel’s microphone was turned off.
While the two women don’t appear to be in a deep feud, it’s unlikely we will see them pairing up for a TV show any time soon.
Metro has reached out to Rachel’s team for comment.
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